Over 1,000 units of affordable housing will be developed on four New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) sites in the South Bronx by five teams announced today by New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) Commissioner Shaun Donovan and NYCHA Chairman Tino Hernandez.  Blue Sea Development was selected as the lead developer of a 101-unit building on the grounds of the NYCHA-owned Forest Houses; Dunn Development Corp. was selected as the lead developer of 220 units on the grounds of Highbridge Gardens; the TNS Development/CPC Resources/Lemle & Wolff team was announced as the lead developer of 236 units of new housing on the grounds of Soundview Houses; the Arista team was selected as the lead developer of a 290-unit renovation of six NYCHA-owned buildings in the University Heights area; and Bronx Pro was selected as the lead developer of a 173-unit renovation of four more NYCHA-owned buildings in the University Heights area. These sites will bring in an estimated $29 million in revenue to the Housing Authority, a critical component in preserving public housing in a time of diminishing Federal spending.

In selecting the development teams for the South Bronx sites, preference was given to developers who proposed a range of affordability with competitive acquisition prices and the least amount of City subsidies, while maintaining the highest standards in sustainable design and quality of construction. The developments are the product of an ongoing collaboration between HPD and NYCHA, where developable NYCHA sites are being identified for the expansion of affordable housing in the City.

“As the City’s population grows and the need for affordable housing increases, one thing that remains fixed is the supply of available land,” said HPD Commissioner Shaun Donovan. “This is why it is so important that we make full use of underutilized properties owned by city and state agencies. These new sites will provide affordable units for hard working low- and moderate-income-families. Teachers, nurses, firefighters, artists and others who make our city prosper and grow will now be able to stay in the city and raise their families.”

"NYCHA's collaboration with HPD is generating creative solutions for expanding affordable housing in the City. At the same time, the Bronx sites will provide $29 million in critically needed revenue to help the Housing Authority preserve the homes of current and future generations of public housing residents," said Chairman Hernandez.

All these affordable apartments, co-ops and townhouses will help bring the City more than 1,000 units closer to the realization of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s  $7.5 billion New Housing Marketplace Plan to provide affordable housing for 500,000 New Yorkers. It is the largest municipal housing plan in the nation and, over the past five years, the City has funded over 82,500 of the 165,000 affordable units to be built and preserved through the Mayor’s plan.

“NYCHA is to be congratulated for developing a strategy which creates more affordable housing despite the lack of federal assistance for new housing,” said Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion, Jr. “Additionally, the design of these five proposals assures that they will be developed with the utmost sensitivity to the existing layout of project grounds & surrounding communities. The five development teams selected have a history of developing quality affordable housing that is both attractive & sustainable. I look forward to working with NYCHA & HPD on this and future interagency affordable housing projects.”

All of the rental units throughout the four sites will be affordable to families of four earning $69,100 or less or to single households earning $48,300 or less. The townhouses and co-ops will be affordable to families of four earning $99,800 or less or to single households earning $69,800 or less.

Forest Houses

The development at Forest Houses will consist of one six-story building containing 100 affordable units available to households making 80% or less of HUD Income Limits ($61,450 for a family of four or $43,000 for an individual). The building will also contain a superintendent’s unit and will include landscaped open space as well as 38 underground parking spaces; and will take advantage of “green” and energy saving design features.  The current site, which contains walkways, benches, and barbecue grills, will be relocated to another part of the Forest Houses complex at the developer’s expense.

"We at Blue Sea Development Company are proud to be partners with HPD and NYCHA in support of our common goal to provide ‘green’ affordable housing for families in need,” said Les Bluestone, co-founder of Blue Sea Development.

Highbridge Gardens

The development at Highbridge Gardens will consist of one or two buildings, yielding 219 units affordable to households making 90% or less of HUD Income Limits ($69,100 for a family of four or $48,400 for an individual) plus one super’s unit. In addition, the development will provide 66 surface parking spaces and a community room and other tenant facilities. The development site is a sloping wooded bluff overlooking the Harlem River.

“Dunn Development Corp. is excited to be collaborating with HPD and NYCHA on their innovative initiative to create new affordable housing on underutilized sites,” said Martin Dunn, president of Dunn Development.  “We’re looking forward to bringing a beautiful new building to the Highbridge community.”

Soundview Houses

The development at Soundview Houses will invigorate the existing property. The new construction will consist of two 8-story rental buildings—one for families (121 units) and one for seniors (79 units)—and 18 two-family townhouses for homeownership. The senior units will be affordable to households making 60% or less of HUD Income Limits ($36,900 for a couple or $32,300 for an individual), while the other rental units will be affordable for households making 80% or less of HUD Income Limits. Twelve of the townhouses will be affordable to households making 130% or less of HUD Income Limits ($99,800 for a family of four or $69,800 for an individual) and the other six townhouses will be affordable to households making 80% or less of HUD Income Limits. At the developer’s expense, the existing parking lot and barbecue area will be relocated.

Tom Metallo, President of TNS Development Group Ltd. said, “In our 20 year history, TNS has always taken great pride in providing affordable housing to New York City’s residents.  We are excited at the opportunity to provide over 200 new units of affordable housing in the Soundview section of the Bronx and we look forward to working with our partners on this project, Lemle & Wolff and CPC Resources, Inc., as well as the New York City Housing Authority and the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development.”

University Ave. Consolidated

University Ave. Consolidated consists of 10 scattered multi-family buildings all located within the University Heights neighborhood. The development will be completed in two simultaneous phases by two developers.  Phase I entails the renovation of six buildings. Five of the buildings will provide a total of 221 units of rental housing affordable to households making 80% or less of HUD Income Limits, while the sixth building will provide 69 co-op units affordable to households making 90% or less of HUD Income Limits. Phase II entails the renovation of the final four buildings and will provide 173 rental units affordable to households making 80% or less of HUD Income Limits.

Michael T. Rooney, Managing Member of Arista Development said, “We at Arista Development are very excited to work with HPD and NYCHA in continuing the transformation of this vital community in the Bronx.”

“As a stake holder in Community Board Five, Bronx Pro is pleased to be selected by HPD and NYCHA to participate in their ongoing commitment to revitalize the Morris Heights community,” said Peter Magistro of Bronx Pro. “We are excited to continue our public/private partnership in this endeavor and to fulfill our mission to develop sustainable housing that improves quality of life and fosters a sense of dignity for the families in our community.” 

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